Florida DOT Capping Off Seawall Construction Project

The Florida Department of Transportation is wrapping up a $117 million secant seawall project to protect parts of the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway, a major coastal road, from future hurricane damage.

[Above photo by Florida DOT]

The highway, also known as State Road A1A, runs for 339 miles along much of Florida’s Atlantic coast. The project consists of two seawalls in Volusia and Flagler counties, areas where the highway was heavily damaged during Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022.

That roadway serves as “a critical transportation corridor for residents and businesses, as well as a hurricane evacuation route,” said Cindi Lane, Florida DOT regional public information director.

Each seawall is 1.3 miles long, with the northern seawall straddling the two counties and the other about six miles south in Volusia County. They were built by drilling alternating and overlapping holes of about 38 feet and 18 feet into the beach. Concrete was pumped into the holes, and the deeper piles were wrapped with fiberglass cages, resulting in a solid wall that is expected to last at least 50 years.

Crews capped the piles with concrete before trucking in more than 123,000 tons of sand to form sand dunes to cover the walls. Florida DOT is planting more than 142,000 native plants on the dunes to give them a natural look and to prevent beach erosion, Lane noted.

“From the road, you wouldn’t know there’s a seawall there because all you see is a sand dune,” she pointed out. Even if a storm wrecks the sand dunes, the underground seawall should protect the road.

“Florida DOT has committed to placing new sand to cover the wall as needed as part of its maintenance program,” Lane added. “This will help to ensure the wall performs as expected well into the future.”

The agency chose to utilize secant wall construction instead of sheet piling because secant piles can be driven deep into bedrock to provide more stability, she noted. That also allows for a smaller design footprint with the secant pile construction process also quieter as well.

The eastern side of this part of A1A has no development, giving it “absolutely gorgeous ocean views,” but the direct exposure to the Atlantic also leaves the highway “more vulnerable to erosion and damage by hurricanes and northeasters,” Lane said.

Florida DOT repaired damaged portions of A1A immediately after those 2022 hurricanes, but the department recognized it needed a proactive approach to make the highway more resilient, Lane said. The agency put together a “Resiliency Strike Team,” which included experts from Florida DOT, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Florida Department of Environmental Quality, and local government.

“The mission was to protect the road and protect the beach,” Lane noted.

After Hurricane Matthew in 2016 tore up A1A in northern Flagler County, Florida DOT built a seawall to protect the highway, and it seemed to be holding up well, she pointed out. The team explored several options and decided to pursue two projects – the seawalls in Volusia and Flagler counties, and a beach re-nourishment project on Flagler Beach.

The Corps of Engineers – with Florida DOT providing part of the local match money – headed up the beach re-nourishment project, which pumped sand from the ocean to the shore to widen the beach. Florida DOT then took the lead in the seawalls project.

The agency has finished building the walls and caps on both seawalls and is almost finished shaping the dunes and plantings.

One sea turtle nest in the construction zone has temporarily halted the dune shaping on the north seawall, Lane said.

During sea turtle nesting season, which runs from March through October, construction work can only begin each morning after an approved turtle nest inspector has surveyed the area to identify any nesting or hatching activity. If a nest is found, no work can occur within 10 feet.

Florida DOT added that the entire project is expected to be completed by early 2026.

Proactive Tree Work by Oregon DOT Limits Fire Damage

The Oregon Department of Transportation recently highlighted how its mitigation work ahead of wildfire season helped keep traffic moving and reduced impacts when the Aubrey Fire closed OR 58 near Oakridge in early August.

[Above photo by Oregon DOT]

That wildfire, which grew to 35 acres and prompted nearby evacuations, shut down a critical travel and freight corridor. Thanks to preparation and a quick response, Oregon DOT said in a statement that its crews reopened one lane of the highway in a single afternoon.

While the road’s one-day wildfire closure was disruptive, the situation could have been far worse. This spring, Oregon DOT’s Oakridge crews spent three to four weeks between mileposts 37 and 39 working with a contractor to remove and haul away trees that posed a hazard to the roadway. That work, combined with more than four years of hazard tree management in the same area, reduced forest fuels along the corridor. Because of those efforts, the Aubrey Fire burned less hot and spread more slowly than it could have otherwise, Oregon DOT said.

[Editor’s note: The video below, produced by Oregon DOT several years ago, outlines the hazardous tree removal process.]

The cleared corridor also made it safer and faster to reopen the highway. It provided essential space for firefighting equipment and reduced the number of trees that might have otherwise fallen across the roadway, Oregon DOT noted. Without this proactive work, the closure would have likely lasted much longer and the risks to both travelers and firefighters would have been higher, the agency explained.

This isn’t the first time preventative maintenance has proven its value, the agency said. Similar hazard tree removal on OR 126W helped limit damage from the January 2024 ice storm. That highway was closed for four days; without earlier tree work, it could have been closed for four weeks, Oregon DOT emphasized.

Some of this work has been supported through a federal “Good Neighbor Authority” grant that allows the agency to partner with the U.S. Forest Service on projects that support forest health and public safety. But even with grant funding, Oregon DOT’s own crews, equipment, and time are what make the work possible, the agency stressed.

Environmental News Highlights – September 10, 2025

Podcast: Scenic America and Landscape Preservation

The latest episode of the “Stream by AASHTO” podcast features an interview with Tziporah Feldman, policy and research director for Scenic America; a national nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to preserving and enhancing the scenic character of America’s communities and countryside.

[Above image by AASHTO]

The “Stream by AASHTO” podcast series – part of the AASHTO Environmental Management technical service program operated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials – explores a wide array of environmental topics that affect state departments of transportation and the infrastructure programs they oversee.

In this episode, Feldman discusses the specific policy issues Scenic America addresses, such as the impact of underground utility construction on parks and open spaces; billboards and sign control; and the intersection of community planning and scenic byways.

Scenic America has been an especially strong supporter of the National Scenic Byways Program, revived in 2019 by the Federal Highway Administration in part due to its advocacy and that of other groups. Since then, America’s Byways have received nearly $50 million in federal funding, helping support local economies through tourism and job creation while protecting the scenic beauty of the nation’s highways and roadsides.

Later in the podcast, Feldman detailed her educational and environmental experience. After receiving a biology degree from the University of Cincinnati – all while helping rehabilitate birds of prey and releasing them back into the wild – she went on to obtain a masters in ecology and evolutionary biology from Stony Brook University.

To listen to the full podcast, click here.

Maryland DOT Unveils Statewide Trail System Plan

The Maryland Department of Transportation recently issued a new Statewide Transportation Trails Strategic Plan that will help map out a “safe, accessible, and connected trail network” for communities across the state.

[Above photo by the Maryland DOT]

The agency said this strategic trail plan reflects on its “broader commitment” to safety, equity, and multimodal transportation in support of both its Complete Streets Policy and Serious About Safety initiative; all part of a larger effort to link people to jobs, schools, parks, transit, and each other while enhancing safety, sustainability, and quality of life.

Developed with public input and in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and other state and local agencies, the plan also builds upon the foundation of Maryland DOT’s 2009 Trails Plan and the 2050 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.

Key attributes of the new rail plan include empowering local communities to plan, fund, build, and maintain locally significant transportation trails in partnership with Maryland DOT; prioritizing safety-focused trail projects that reduce pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and injuries; developing trail connections that link residents and visitors to Maryland’s economic, recreational, and cultural opportunities; and coordination across state agencies to align resources and funding that strengthen community connectivity and improve quality of life for all state residents.

“Maryland has a strong and growing transportation trails system, and this plan provides a clear roadmap to deliver safer, more accessible and more equitable transportation options for all Marylanders,” said Samantha J. Biddle, Maryland DOT’s acting secretary, in a statement. “[We are] committed to develop integrated, multimodal connections that link pedestrians and bicyclists to destinations, reduce reliance on motor vehicles and support the state’s tourism economy.”

Additionally, as part of the plan’s development process, the agency conducted a statewide assessment of trail conditions and policies and created an interactive map of existing, planned, and proposed transportation trails.

Also, to support local implementation, the plan includes three practical toolkits on building project support, leveraging funding and trail operations and maintenance. It also recommends project selection criteria to help state and local partners align trail investments with Maryland’s safety and connectivity goals, the agency said.

Various state departments of transportation across the country are involved in bolstering trail networks with the regions they oversee.

For example, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently joined with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation, and the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism to launch the “MassTrails 10” campaign to showcase the recreational opportunities of trails, as well as how they connect to local transit services and other broader trail networks.

Out west, the Utah Department of Transportation has been engaged in a broad effort to develop the Utah Trail Network; a statewide system of paved trails that connects communities and gives people more choices for how they get around.

The latest project in that trail initiative is a paved multi-use trail from the town of Enoch to Cedar City in the northeastern part of the state. Previously, in May 2024, the Utah DOT issued nearly $95 million to support 19 trail projects – including the construction of new paved trails as well as funding for planning efforts to fill in existing trail gaps – as part of expanding the state trail network.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Department of Transportation recently began work on the latest extension of the Route 66 Trail in McLean County. Made possible by a $3.2 million grant via the agency’s Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program, the project will extend the trail 4.5 miles from McLean to Funks Grove – enhancing a popular travel and recreation option in central Illinois while drawing tourists, creating economic opportunity and improving connections for communities along the old Route 66.

The Washington State Department of Transportation is currently building the Gravelly-Thorne Connector; a 1.3-mile-long, 14-foot-wide path between Tillicum and Gravelly Lake Drive Southwest in Lakewood. That paved urban trail will run parallel to southbound I-5 and is expected to open in late fall 2026.

And in December 2024, the Hawaii Department of Transportation completed construction of the $15.7 million Leeward Bikeway – a dedicated bikeway within the former Oahu Railway & Land Company right-of-way between Philippine Sea Road in ‘Ewa and Waipahu Depot Street.

Environmental News Highlights – September 3, 2025

CTDOT Giving the Nation’s Oldest Ferry a Makeover

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is giving the oldest continuously running ferry service in the country a modern-day makeover to improve safety and accessibility.

[Above image via the CTDOT]

Work is expected to start in January 2026 at the landings of the Rocky Hill/Glastonbury Ferry, which has been carrying people across the Connecticut River since 1655.

The ferry consists of a barge that can handle three cars and a handful of pedestrians and bicyclists. A diesel tugboat is attached to the barge – a setup known as “towing on the hip” – to make the four-minute trip across the river; a trip made on an as-needed basis depending on travel volume.

CTDOT noted that improvements will include Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant upgrades to sidewalks, ramps, and railings to facilitate pedestrians and bicyclists who make up a good deal of its customers.

While both of those landing sites are getting new security gates and decorative fencing and lighting, most of the work will be at the Rocky Hill site on the west side of the river, the agency said. New concrete ramps and sidewalks will connect an adjacent park to Ferry Lane for safer pedestrian access to the ferry.

CTDOT also will upgrade lighting and install new benches on the Rocky Hill side so fans of the historic ferry can view its operations from a safe perch.

The benches will allow people to enjoy the “picturesque views of the Connecticut River throughout the year, whether it’s the height of summer or when the leaves begin to change colors in the fall,” noted Josh Morgan, CTDOT communications director.

[Editor’s note: Ferry systems operated by state departments of transportation across the U.S. provide a crucial link for a variety of mobility needs, including for students commuting to school, as this story from the North Carolina Department of Transportation illustrates.]

The Rocky Hill/Glastonbury Ferry began operations some 370 years ago as a family-owned enterprise to connect what was then the town of Wethersfield, a Puritan settlement divided by the Connecticut River. The ferry was originally just raft powered by a man with a paddle before it got a “horsepower” upgrade – literally via a horse walking on a treadmill bult into the middle of the watercraft itself.

More than a century after its founding, the eastern Westfield settlement became home to a gunpowder factory that supplied George Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War. The factory owner’s wife, Eunice Stocking, most likely used the ferry to make deliveries to troops fighting British regulars in New York.

After the Civil War, a steam-powered boat was put into service – and that’s when the state of Connecticut took over the ferry’s operations.

CTDOT’s Morgan said the ferry is not only a “critical connection across the Connecticut River,” its rich history is “a great sense of pride in both communities, as well as [for] CTDOT. Our staff and crews love being part of this history in service to the public.”

The agency added that the Rocky Hill/Glastonbury Ferry shuts down for the season on December 1 and resumes service on April 1. Some of the upgrades planned for 2026 will still be under construction when the ferry reopens in the spring, but the agency stressed that work should not interfere with operations, CTDOT emphasized.

Tennessee DOT Anti-Litter Effort Wins Outreach Awards

The “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” littler prevention campaign spearheaded by the Tennessee Department of Transportation received six awards from the Nashville Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America or PRSA. [Above photo by the Tennessee DOT]

The 39th Annual Parthenon Awards brings together Middle Tennessee’s public relations professionals to celebrate outstanding work, honor the top PR campaigns and tactics, and recognize leadership in the industry.

The “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” campaign received a Parthenon Award for its 2024 “No Trash November” initiative in three categories: Integrated Communications, Monthly Observance, and Kick-Off News Release.

[Editor’s note: The Wyoming Department of Transportation recently chronicled one family’s decades-long dedication to litter removal from what they consider to be ‘their’ Wyoming highway.]

The “No Trash November” effort also received an Award of Merit for Media Relations. Additional Merit Awards were received for Trash Masters Rewards Integrated Communications, which rewards individual actions toward litter prevention, and Tennessee DOT’s “Bear-Proof Trash Can Campaign” collaboration with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

The department noted that its “No Trash November” initiative encompasses residents, Tennessee DOT partners, youth organizations, and scouting groups during a month-long drive to clear trash from state roadways and waterways. In 2024, that effort removed more than 86,000 pounds of litter.

“[We are] honored with this recognition, but the real winners are our residents and communities that help to keep our state clean,” said Will Reid, Tennessee DOT commissioner, in a statement.

“Last year’s No Trash November included more than 2,200 volunteers participating in 154 cleanup events across the state,” he said. “We are committed to litter prevention and awareness, and we are humbled by the numerous volunteers and communities that have invested year after year to help us in our cleanup efforts.”

The agency noted that, over the past three years, its “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” campaign has earned 13 Parthenon Awards and six Merit Awards in total. Additionally, the campaign gained national recognition at the 2024 PRSA Anvil Awards, receiving an Award of Excellence.

Environmental News Highlights – August 27, 2025

Arizona DOT Wildlife Overpass Taking Shape Over I-17

Huge girders stretching across I-17 near Flagstaff, AZ, will soon support a safe elk and deer overpass through the forest and above motor vehicle traffic – all while protecting travelers from costly and dangerous collisions with wildlife.

[Above photo by Arizona DOT]

The Arizona Department of Transportation is scheduled to complete installation of the 26 girders for the Willard Springs Wildlife Overpass by the Labor Day weekend. The entire wildlife overpass is expected to be finished by fall of 2026.

Once all girders and the overpass deck is in place, crews will install native vegetation and landscape features to entice animals to use the bridge. Arizona DOT noted in a statement that it also will install or retrofit about 16 miles of wildlife fencing to funnel animals along the corridor to the overpass.

Arizona DOT and the Arizona Game and Fish Department developed the plans for the 100-foot-wide overpass after studying the I-17 interstate corridor – which passes through the Coconino National Forest, home to elk, deer, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, black bears, mountain lions, and smaller animals – to find the best place to build an animal-friendly crossing.

[Editor’s note: In the video below, produced by the New Mexico Department of Transportation, Chad Loberger with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, explains the role animal crossings play in the safety of wildlife and the traveling public.]

Arizona DOT said it applied for and received a grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program to pay for the bulk of the $21 million overpass. The FHWA says more than a million wildlife vehicle collisions a year occur across the country, killing an average of 200 people and injuring 26,000 more.

Federal, state, and county officials identified “a hot spot for elk” along I-17 south of Flagstaff, noted Audrey Navarro – Arizona DOT’s biology program manager – on a recent episode of the “On the Road” podcast produced by the agency.

The hot spot overlapped with a stretch of the interstate that had no bridges and only one road culvert that elk and deer could use, she said, also stressing that the I-17 overpass is only the latest Arizona DOT project to prevent wildlife vehicle collisions. “We’ve been developing wildlife infrastructure for the past decade,” Navarro said on the podcast.

[Editor’s note: A recent episode of “The DOT POD” podcast produced by the New York State Department of Transportation also discussed how state DOTs are working to provide safer passage for wildlife across highways and roadways.]

Meanwhile, a 2021 Arizona DOT study reported that about 27 percent of all crashes in a 17-mile stretch of I-17 south of Flagstaff involved elk, mule deer, or black bear. The report concluded that a wildlife vehicle collision occurs at least twice a year along each mile of interstate. The agency added that vehicle wildlife collisions in Arizona killed four people and injured 241 people in 2023.

Other Arizona DOT wildlife projects include:

Three wildlife overpasses and two underpasses for desert bighorn sheep along US 93 in far northwestern Arizona.
Three wildlife underpasses on State Route 68 between Bullhead City and Golden Valley.
Crossing and fencing on State Route 260 to reduce crashes with elk and deer.
A six-mile reconstruction of State Route 77 north of Tucson that included an overpass and underpass connecting wildlife habitats in the Santa Catalina and Tortolita mountains.
Two wildlife underpasses and six miles of fencing added to State Route 86 between Tucson and Sells.

Many state departments of transportation are working on ways to better protect animals and the motoring public through broad strategic efforts to identify key wildlife crossing areas and construct infrastructure to ensure safe animal passage.

For example, the Colorado Department of Transportation recently reached the 50 percent completion point for its I-25 Greenland Wildlife Overpass project located between Larkspur and Monument; what will be the world’s largest interstate-spanning bridge structure for wildlife once finished.

With the project reaching the halfway point, the structure to support the bridge has gone up, including foundation work of piers, columns, and the installation of 76 bridge girders; 38 over each direction of I-25. It is 200 feet wide and 209 feet long, covering 41,800 square feet or nearly an acre.

In October 2024, the California Department of Transportation issued a Wildlife Connectivity Report that identifies more than 140 locations where roadways can be better integrated with the migration needs of animals statewide.

The Utah Department of Transportation recently outlined its nearly five-decade effort to mitigate wildlife vehicle collisions statewide in an article in The Leaflet by AASHTO; a newsletter focused on state DOT environmental management issues published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. That long-term effort by Utah DOT also included the recent development of The Utah Roadkill Reporter; a smartphone application introduced in 2022 that gets the public involved in reporting wildlife collisions.

And in November 2023, the Wyoming Department of Transportation completed wildlife crossings built as part of its $15.1 million Dry Piney project. The Dry Piney project – a joint effort between the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Wyoming DOT – includes nine underpasses and 16.7 miles of eight-foot-high fencing on both sides of Highway 189 in the western part of the state to protect big game animals, primarily mule deer.